'Hip Hop for Hope' Raises Funds for Cancer Patient and Family

RENO, Nev. -- Hip hop has put some hope back into the lives of a local family. For eight months, the family has been dealing with expensive bills, appointments and long hospital stays after one family member was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Jeremy Radke has always provided for his family. He always made sure they were his main priority even over his health.

"I love my family and I always want to do things for them and not really care for myself. I just want to get everything set up for them," he said. "Once I found out I had the cancer, it was really hard because I couldn't provide as much for them as much as I could."

He has Metastatic Sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer that's usually found in children. Jeremy has to be in the hospital for treatment about two weeks for every few days he's at home, making it difficult on his family. His biggest fear is leaving them behind.

"Leaving them with no one to take care of them, that's what I'm supposed to be hear for... I had to watch my children grow up on the computer screen, you know Skype. It's been really tough," he said.

It's been especially tough on his youngest daughter, Brianna. She knows even at the age of eight that her time with Dad may be limited.

"He said that he would always be there for me and I'm afraid that he's not and I'm afraid that he's going to die," she said.

Her strong spirit has kept Jeremy's strength.

"She's my whole world. She's always the one who gets me. Whenever I see her, she's amazing," he said.

Now, it's the family's turn to take care of Jeremy. His wife, Jessica, pays the bills and takes their children with special needs to school and their medical appointments, making sure their lives were as normal as possible.

"I just keep telling the kids that it's just temporary and you just got to remind yourself that it's not going to last forever," she said. "The biggest challenge is our time and money, there's not enough of either."

Family is everything to Jeremy and while he feels helpless, he knows he has a very strong support system.

"I can't even describe how much [Jessica] has been through this whole thing. If I didn't have her, I'd be lost," he said.

Behind on rent and medical bills, the Radke family is close to financial ruin, but Marcus Woods, a fundraiser coordinator and performer, took it upon himself to use his music to help this family of strangers.

"The way I live my life and giving back to people and not worry about myself, I see that same quality in [Jeremy]," Woods said. "I just know God put it in my heart to help people so once I met them and saw that they're genuine and seen what they're going through, i just want to help."

The fundraiser called 'Hip Hop for Hope' was held at Rise nightclub in Reno Thursday night, with all proceeds going toward the Radke Family.

Jeremy isn't out of the woods yet. He has one more surgery and several more chemo treatments left before his health can stabilize.

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